The creature didn't leave.
Jason could still hear it moving below the tree.
Slow.
Heavy.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Every step carried enough weight to shake loose flakes of bark from the trunk beneath the treehouse.
Jason stayed perfectly still near the broken wall, one hand gripping the alloy blade while his eyes remained fixed on the darkness below.
The forest at night looked different.
Worse.
The faint green light filtering through the canopy earlier had almost completely faded, leaving behind only scattered patches of pale glow between the trees.
Most of the forest had disappeared into darkness.
And somewhere inside that darkness—
something hunted.
Jason slowed his breathing carefully.
Panic wouldn't help.
Noise wouldn't help.
Right now, survival depended on one thing.
Staying unnoticed.
The system notification still hovered faintly in the corner of his vision.
---
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE]
Objective: Survive the Night
Failure: Termination
---
"Very motivating," Jason muttered quietly.
Below him, the creature stopped moving.
Silence followed.
Jason's grip tightened immediately.
That was worse.
At least movement told him where the thing was.
Silence meant uncertainty.
His Perception skill pulsed faintly again.
Hostile intent detected.
Close.
Very close.
Jason slowly lowered himself into a crouch and peered through a gap in the wooden wall.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then two pale eyes reflected back at him from the darkness below.
The creature stood near the base of the tree now.
Watching.
Its body was massive.
Far larger than the wolf-like creature from earlier.
Jason could barely make out its shape beneath the darkness, but he saw enough.
Dark fur.
Broad shoulders.
Long front limbs ending in claws thick enough to carve through bark.
It almost resembled a bear.
If someone had stretched one into something leaner and more unnatural.
The creature slowly circled the trunk once.
Then it stopped again.
Sniffing.
Jason didn't move.
Didn't blink.
For several seconds, neither of them moved at all.
Then the creature suddenly slammed one claw into the tree.
THUD.
The entire treehouse shook violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Jason nearly lost his balance.
"…Shit."
Another hit followed.
THUD.
Wood creaked loudly beneath him.
The creature wasn't trying to climb.
It was testing the treehouse.
Jason immediately backed away from the wall.
The treehouse suddenly felt a lot less safe.
Below him came a low growl.
Deep enough to vibrate through the wood itself.
Jason's heartbeat quickened.
Not from fear alone.
Adrenaline.
Pure survival instinct.
The creature slammed the trunk again.
Harder this time.
Jason heard cracking somewhere below.
His eyes narrowed.
"No way this thing could break the entire tree…"
Right?
The thought wasn't nearly as reassuring as he wanted it to be.
The growling stopped.
Then—
silence again.
Jason frowned slightly.
Something felt wrong.
Perception pulsed harder.
Danger.
Immediate.
Jason moved instinctively.
A split second later—
CRASH.
Something slammed through the side of the treehouse where he had been crouching moments earlier.
Wood exploded inward.
Jason rolled across the floor as massive claws tore through the planks behind him.
"Damn it!"
The creature had climbed.
Fast.
Way too fast.
One massive arm forced its way through the opening, tearing apart wood as it searched for him.
Jason scrambled backward, breathing hard.
Up close, the thing looked even worse.
Its limbs bent strangely.
Its fur was patchy in places, exposing dark gray skin beneath.
And its claws—
they were stained black near the tips like dried rot.
The creature snarled violently and forced more of its body through the shattered wall.
Jason reacted instantly.
He grabbed a loose wooden plank nearby and jammed it between the creature's arm and the wall.
The beast pushed harder.
The plank snapped immediately.
But the delay gave Jason enough time to move.
He rushed toward the opposite side of the treehouse while the creature struggled halfway through the opening.
His mind raced.
Fight?
Impossible.
Run?
Maybe.
The problem was the height.
One wrong jump meant broken legs.
Another crash echoed behind him as the creature forced itself farther inside.
Jason spun around.
The beast was enormous inside the cramped shelter.
Its pale eyes locked onto him immediately.
Then it lunged.
Jason threw himself sideways barely in time.
Claws tore through the wooden floor where he had been standing.
The entire structure shook violently.
The treehouse wouldn't survive much more of this.
Jason pushed himself back to his feet, breathing hard.
Think.
Think.
The creature turned again, moving surprisingly fast despite its size.
Jason noticed something then.
One of its hind legs dragged slightly.
Injured.
An old wound, maybe.
Not enough to slow it much.
But enough to matter.
The beast charged again.
Jason waited.
Waited—
then kicked one of the broken support crates toward its front legs.
The creature crushed the crate instantly.
But the uneven footing disrupted its balance for half a second.
Jason moved immediately.
He rushed forward instead of backward.
The alloy blade flashed in his hand as he slashed hard across the creature's injured leg.
Warm blood sprayed across the wooden floor.
The beast roared.
The sound nearly deafened him.
Jason jumped backward before the claws could reach him.
His chest heaved heavily now.
The cut wasn't deep.
But it worked.
The creature limped harder now, enraged more than injured.
Jason's arms trembled slightly.
Not from weakness.
From adrenaline.
This was real.
One mistake and he died here.
No dramatic comeback.
No hidden power awakening.
Just death.
The beast lunged again.
This time Jason didn't dodge completely.
One claw clipped his shoulder as he moved.
Pain exploded through his arm instantly.
"Ah—!"
He slammed into the wall hard enough to rattle the entire structure.
The creature charged after him immediately.
Too fast.
Jason's eyes widened—
then something strange happened.
For a brief second—
everything slowed.
Not time itself.
His awareness.
The creature's movements became clearer.
Sharper.
He saw the shift in its shoulders before the strike.
The tension in its muscles.
The direction of its weight.
Instinct moved his body before thought could catch up.
Jason ducked low.
The claws missed his head by inches and smashed into the wall behind him instead.
The damaged section collapsed outward instantly.
The creature stumbled halfway through the broken opening.
Jason froze for half a second.
Then realized—
this was his chance.
He moved without hesitation.
Using every bit of strength he had, Jason slammed his shoulder into the creature's side while it struggled against the collapsing wall.
The weakened structure gave way completely.
Wood cracked apart violently.
The creature roared as both it and half the wall crashed downward through the branches below.
Jason stumbled backward hard, breathing heavily.
Several crashing sounds echoed beneath the tree.
Then silence.
Jason remained frozen.
Waiting.
Listening.
Nothing moved.
His entire body trembled now.
Not dramatically.
Subtly.
His muscles reacting as the adrenaline began to fade.
"…Holy shit…"
He slowly approached the shattered opening and looked down carefully.
The creature lay motionless several meters below among broken branches.
One of its limbs bent at an unnatural angle.
It wasn't moving.
Jason didn't trust that at all.
Still gripping the blade tightly, he waited another full minute before finally sitting heavily against the remaining wall.
Pain flared through his shoulder immediately.
Jason hissed quietly and looked down.
Three long cuts stretched across the upper part of his arm.
Not deep enough to cripple him.
But deep enough to bleed steadily.
"…Great."
He grabbed the medical kit from his pack and opened it carefully.
Most of the supplies looked basic.
Bandages.
Disinfectant.
Small injectors labeled with symbols he didn't recognize.
Jason settled for cleaning the wound normally.
The disinfectant burned like hell.
He clenched his teeth silently while wrapping the bandages around his shoulder.
When he finished, exhaustion hit him all at once.
His arms felt heavy.
His legs weak.
The fight had lasted maybe two minutes.
And it had almost killed him.
Jason leaned his head back against the wall and stared at the broken ceiling overhead.
Mist drifted slowly through the canopy now like cold rain.
The forest below remained silent.
Too silent.
Then the system appeared.
---
[HOSTILE ENTITY DEFEATED]
EXP Gained: +15
Aether Absorbed: +15
---
Jason blinked.
"…It died?"
Apparently, the fall had finished it off.
Another notification appeared immediately after,jason sat up slightly.
The message lingered briefly before new information appeared.
---
[Host has absorbed Aether from defeated enemy.]
Stat Points Awarded: 3
---
Jason stared quietly.
So this really was a progression system.
Kill.
Survive.
Grow stronger.
Simple.
"…Feels messed up when you say it like that."
Still, the extra strength mattered.
Especially here.
A new interface unfolded in front of him.
---
Exp: 15 /250
HP: 42/82
Strength: 6
Agility: 8
Endurance: 5
Aether Energy: 15/100
Available Points: 3
---
Jason frowned thoughtfully.
Strength helped in fights.
Agility had probably saved his life earlier.
But endurance…
His eyes drifted toward the bloodstained bandages around his shoulder.
Survival mattered more than damage right now.
After a moment, he made his decision.
---
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Endurance: 6
---
A strange sensation spread through his body instantly,subtle, not overwhelming.
Like tension loosening beneath his muscles.
The fatigue didn't disappear but his body felt steadier,more responsive.
Jason flexed his injured arm carefully.
Still painful,still bleeding slightly.
But manageable.
The system flickered one more time.
---
[SKILL PROFICIENCY INCREASED]
Perception (Lv.1 → Lv.2)
— Improved movement detection
— Improved hostile intent recognition
New Skill Obtained: Edge of Null
[Allows host to amplify blade sharpness against enemies.]
[Aether Cost: 5]
---
"…Guess nearly dying counts as practice."
For the first time since arriving in Edenfalls, Jason almost smiled,almost.
Then a sound interrupted him.
Soft.
Close.
Jason's head snapped upward instantly.
Not outside the treehouse.
Inside.
A faint creaking sound came from the far corner near one of the old storage containers.
Jason immediately grabbed the blade again.
His exhaustion vanished beneath fresh tension.
Slowly—
carefully—
he stood up.
The corner remained dark.
Then another creak echoed.
Jason narrowed his eyes.
The floorboards groaned beneath his weight.
Another soft sound came from behind the container.
Jason tightened his grip on the blade.
Then slowly pulled the container aside.
Underneath it—
he froze.
Not a creature.
Not a trap.
A skeleton.
Human.
Curled tightly against the wall beneath layers of old cloth and dust.
Jason stared silently.
The bones looked old.
Very old.
One hand still clutched a rusted knife.
The other rested near faded markings scratched into the wooden floor.
Beside the skeleton lay a worn map.Jason picked it up carefully.His eyes narrowed immediately.It was a completed version of the map he had received earlier.Every region was marked with symbols and warnings.
Danger zones,Territories,Pathways and layers.
Jason's expression slowly darkened.He wasn't deep inside Edenfalls.He was only in the Outer Layer.
There were still four more layers beyond this one before reaching the region he had been exiled from.
A cold feeling settled in his stomach.This place wasn't the edge of Edenfalls,It was the beginning.
Jason crouched beside the skeleton again.
The writing carved into the wooden floor was damaged, but a few words remained visible.
DON'T TRUST—
The rest had been scratched too deeply into the wood to read properly.
Jason stared at the unfinished warning in silence.
Outside, the forest remained still beneath the endless canopy of Edenfalls.
Inside the ruined treehouse, unease slowly crept back into his chest.
Because suddenly—
the shelter no longer felt abandoned.
It felt left behind.
Like whoever died here had been hiding from something.
Something they never escaped.
Jason slowly looked toward the darkness beyond the broken wall.
The night felt different now.
Heavier.
The system interface flickered faintly in the corner of his vision again.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somewhere far below the treehouse—
something moved through the forest.
Jason tightened his grip on the alloy blade.
"…Yeah," he whispered quietly.
"I heard that too."
Eventually, exhaustion dragged at him harder than fear.
Jason remained near the wall with the blade resting across his lap, eyes fixed on the darkness outside.
At some point during the endless silence—
he finally fell asleep.